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DuraCloud by the Numbers: How Much Content?

Submitted by Carol Minton Morris on Thu, 2014-05-08 11:55

Winchester, MA The DuraCloud managed cloud service from DuraSpace has become a solution to burgeoning research and preservation data for institutions and organizations that are grappling with increasing size along with requirements for managing complex types of content. Why, and how much data is that, exactly?

“According to IDC (International Data Corporation), in 2011 we created 1.8 zettabytes (or 1.8 trillion GBs) of information, which is enough data to fill 57.5 billion 32GB Apple iPads. That's enough iPads to build a Great iPad Wall of China twice as tall as the original. [1]”

The answer to why DuraCloud works for academic institutions with lots of data lies in the unique feature that allows institutions to determine where to keep their digital assets. Some institutions require that content be stored by particular types of providers. With DuraCloud customers select among Amazon, Rackspace and SDSC as storage options–or all three. DuraCloud also automatically checks and reports on the health of stored content. This means that valuable resources are kept safe–for the long-term.

Currently the total amount of DuraCloud customer content preserved is 12,104,787 individual items–that’s more than 51 terabytes of content.

DuraCloud is a service from DuraSpace (http://duraspace.org), an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization providing leadership and innovation for open technologies that promote durable, persistent access to digital data. We collaborate with academic, scientific, cultural, and technology communities by supporting projects (DSpace, Fedora) and creating services (DuraCloud, DSpaceDirect) to help ensure that current and future generations have access to our collective digital heritage. Our values are expressed in our organizational byline, "Committed to our digital future."